Excel Features That Don't Work in Google Sheets (And Workarounds)

Switching from Excel to Google Sheets? You will love the real-time collaboration, cloud access, and zero licensing fees. But before you migrate your entire workflow, you should know that several Excel features don't work in Google Sheets — or work differently enough to cause headaches. VBA macros, Power Query, advanced PivotTable features, and certain controls simply do not translate.

The good news: most of these gaps have workarounds. This guide covers every major incompatibility and shows you exactly how to handle each one.

Key Takeaways:VBA macros don't run in Google Sheets — use Apps Script or Google's Macro Converter insteadPower Query and Power Pivot have no direct equivalent; QUERY function and BigQuery fill the gapOver 15 Excel-specific features lose functionality during conversionSmoothSheet's Excel to CSV Converter helps you prep files before migrating to Sheets

VBA Macros: The Biggest Compatibility Gap

If your Excel workflows rely on VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), this is the single largest obstacle to moving to Google Sheets. VBA simply does not exist in the Google ecosystem. Any macro-enabled workbook (.xlsm) you open in Sheets will load the data and formatting, but every macro will be stripped out.

What breaks:

• All VBA code, including UserForms and custom dialogs
• COM object references (CreateObject, Shell.execute)
• Database connections via Adodb.connection
• ActiveX-dependent automation scripts

Workarounds:

• Google Apps Script: Sheets uses JavaScript-based Apps Script instead of VBA. Simple macros (formatting, data entry, email automation) can be rewritten in Apps Script relatively quickly.
• Macro Converter add-on: Google offers a Macro Converter (available for Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education Plus) that scans your VBA code, identifies compatible APIs, and auto-converts what it can. It generates a compatibility report categorizing each API as "Supported," "Supported with workaround," or "Needs investigation."
• Hybrid approach: Keep complex macro-driven workbooks in Excel and use IMPORTRANGE or third-party connectors to pull summary data into Google Sheets for collaboration.

Power Query and Power Pivot: No Direct Equivalent

Excel's Power Query (Get & Transform) is a full ETL engine built into the spreadsheet. It lets you pull data from databases, APIs, web pages, and files — then clean, reshape, and load it with a visual interface. Google Sheets has nothing comparable built in.

Power Pivot is equally absent. Excel's Data Model feature lets you create relationships between multiple tables and write DAX measures for complex calculations. Sheets doesn't support table relationships or anything resembling DAX.

What breaks:

• All Power Query connections and transformation steps
• Data Model relationships between tables
• DAX calculated columns and measures
• What-If Analysis tools (Data Tables, Scenario Manager)

Workarounds:

• QUERY function: Google Sheets' QUERY function uses a SQL-like syntax to filter, sort, aggregate, and pivot data. It covers many common Power Query use cases for data already in your spreadsheet.
• Connected Sheets + BigQuery: For enterprise-level data operations, Google offers Connected Sheets, which links directly to BigQuery. This handles millions of rows and supports SQL queries — but it is a fundamentally different workflow from Power Query.
• IMPORTDATA / IMPORTHTML: These functions pull data from URLs, partially replacing Power Query's web data source capability.
• Apps Script: For automated ETL pipelines, you can write Apps Script functions that fetch external data, transform it, and write it to sheets on a schedule.

Advanced PivotTable Features

Google Sheets does support pivot tables, and they work well for standard grouping, counting, and summarizing. However, several advanced PivotTable features from Excel either don't exist or work with limitations.

What's limited or missing:

• Calculated fields: Excel lets you create custom calculated fields within the PivotTable itself. Sheets supports calculated fields, but with fewer functions and less flexibility.
• Slicers: Both platforms have slicers, but Excel's are more robust. Excel slicers can control multiple PivotTables simultaneously, and the formatting options are richer.
• Timelines: Excel's Timeline control for date-based filtering in PivotTables has no equivalent in Google Sheets. You will need to use standard slicer-based date filtering instead.
• Grouping: Excel offers more granular date grouping (by quarters, weeks, fiscal periods). Sheets handles basic date grouping but lacks custom fiscal period support.
• GETPIVOTDATA: This function exists in both platforms but behaves differently. Excel's version is more flexible with structured references.

Workaround: For complex pivot analysis that Sheets cannot handle, consider exporting your data to CSV using SmoothSheet's Excel to CSV Converter, then importing it into a dedicated BI tool like Looker Studio or Google's Connected Sheets for BigQuery.

ActiveX Controls and Form Controls

Excel offers two types of interactive controls: Form Controls (buttons, dropdowns, scroll bars) and ActiveX Controls (more advanced, programmable objects). ActiveX is a Windows-only technology and simply does not exist in Google Sheets.

What breaks:

• All ActiveX controls (command buttons, text boxes, combo boxes, toggle buttons)
• Form Control scroll bars and spinners
• Option buttons (radio buttons) linked to cells

Workarounds:

• Checkboxes: Google Sheets has native checkbox support (Insert > Checkbox). These return TRUE/FALSE and work well with formulas.
• Data validation dropdowns: Create dropdown menus via Data > Data validation. These cover most dropdown needs from Excel's Form Controls.
• Apps Script sidebars: For more interactive interfaces, Apps Script can create custom HTML sidebars and dialogs — replacing what UserForms and ActiveX controls did in Excel.
• Google Forms integration: For data input scenarios, linking a Google Form to your spreadsheet can replace complex Excel input forms entirely.

Complex Conditional Formatting

Google Sheets supports conditional formatting, and for most use cases — highlighting cells based on values, color scales, data bars — it works fine. The gaps appear with more advanced scenarios.

What's limited or missing:

• Icon sets: Excel's icon sets (arrows, traffic lights, stars, flags) do not convert to Google Sheets. They are simply dropped during import.
• Data bars: Excel's in-cell data bars are not supported in Sheets.
• Cross-sheet references: Excel conditional formatting can reference other sheets. In Google Sheets, conditional formatting rules are limited to the current sheet.
• Multiple conditions on the same range: Both platforms support this, but Excel's rule manager is more intuitive for ordering and managing many overlapping rules.

Workaround: Use the "Custom formula is" option in Google Sheets conditional formatting. This is surprisingly powerful — you can write any formula that returns TRUE/FALSE. For example, =AND(A1>100, B1="Active") applies formatting when both conditions are met. For icon-like visuals, use emoji characters (checkmarks, warning signs) generated by IF formulas in a helper column.

Excel-Specific Functions

Google Sheets has added many Excel functions over the years — including XLOOKUP and dynamic array functions like FILTER, SORT, and UNIQUE. But some Excel functions still behave differently or are missing entirely.

Functions with differences:

• GETPIVOTDATA: Works in both, but Excel's version supports more reference styles and structured table references.
• TEXTJOIN: Available in both, but Excel supports array arguments more flexibly.
• Dynamic arrays: Both platforms now support spill ranges, but the implementation details differ. Excel uses # for spill references; Sheets handles it implicitly.

Functions missing or unsupported in Sheets:

• STOCKHISTORY (Excel 365 stock data)
• FIELDVALUE (linked data types)
• WEBSERVICE / FILTERXML (web data retrieval — use IMPORTXML or IMPORTDATA instead)
• CUBE functions (OLAP cube connections)
• RTD (Real-Time Data)

For the most part, Google Sheets covers 90%+ of the functions a typical user needs. The gaps mainly affect specialized financial modeling and enterprise data connections.

Full Comparison Table

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run Excel macros in Google Sheets?

No. VBA macros do not run in Google Sheets. You need to rewrite them in Google Apps Script (JavaScript-based) or use Google's Macro Converter add-on, which is available for Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education Plus plans. Simple macros convert easily, but complex ones involving database connections or COM objects require a full rewrite.

What happens to my Excel file's formatting when I open it in Google Sheets?

Most basic formatting (fonts, colors, borders, number formats) transfers correctly. However, conditional formatting icon sets, data bars, ActiveX controls, and advanced chart types will be lost. Password-protected files cannot be opened at all. Always keep a backup of your original Excel file before converting.

Is there a Power Query alternative in Google Sheets?

There is no direct equivalent. The closest options are the QUERY function for in-sheet data transformation, IMPORTDATA/IMPORTHTML for pulling external data, and Connected Sheets linked to BigQuery for enterprise-scale ETL. For importing large Excel datasets into Sheets without browser crashes, SmoothSheet handles server-side processing for files up to hundreds of thousands of rows.

Should I fully switch from Excel to Google Sheets?

It depends on your workflow. If you rely heavily on VBA macros, Power Query, Power Pivot, or work with datasets exceeding 10 million cells, keeping Excel for those specific tasks makes sense. For most other use cases — especially collaboration, basic formulas, and cloud access — Google Sheets works great. Many teams use a hybrid approach: Excel for heavy analysis, Google Sheets for sharing and collaboration.

Conclusion

Google Sheets has closed the gap with Excel significantly over the past few years, but real incompatibilities remain — particularly around VBA macros, Power Query, and advanced PivotTable features. The key is understanding which features you actually use and whether the available workarounds (Apps Script, QUERY function, Connected Sheets) cover your needs.

For most teams, the collaboration benefits of Google Sheets outweigh what you lose from Excel. And when you do need to import Excel files into Google Sheets, make sure to audit your workbooks for incompatible features first.

If your Excel-to-Sheets migration involves large datasets that crash your browser, SmoothSheet processes CSV and Excel imports server-side — no tab freezing, no file size errors. It is $9/month and handles what Google Sheets' native import cannot.